Glitch

What Is a Glitch?

A glitch is a short-term malfunction in a software program, computer network, or electronic device. It usually happens unexpectedly and appears as an error or irregular behavior in the system. Glitches sometimes ‘fix themselves’ but may need outside intervention to make them go away.

Key Takeaways

A glitch is a general term for the periodic errors and malfunctions that appear in computer systems.
They are often brief in duration and sometimes resolve themselves spontaneously.
If a glitch occurs repeatedly, however, it could indicate a more serious issue with software bugs or damaged hardware.
Product managers track and categorize glitches in quality assurance (QA) and when gathering end user feedback.
As frustrating as glitches can be, they are a common feature of the technology landscape, impacting users, engineers, and developers.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

What Is a Glitch?
Key Takeaways
Causes of Computer Glitches
Glitch vs. Bug
Glitch Examples
The Bottom Line
FAQs

Table of Contents

What Is a Glitch?
Key Takeaways
Causes of Computer Glitches

Show Full Guide

Glitch vs. Bug
Glitch Examples
The Bottom Line
FAQs

Causes of Computer Glitches

4 Causes of Computer Glitches

A glitch can take many forms. A screen could freeze, go fuzzy, or change its orientation from landscape to portrait. A software program may become unresponsive or shut down without warning. A laptop might stop working entirely, requiring a reboot.

These types of glitches can have a long list of causes. In general these come down to errors in a machine’s operating system (OS), overheating, bugs or defects in software, or issues created by malware like computer viruses.

More specifically, glitches are typically caused by the following reasons.

Problems With Heat

Sometimes the parts of a computer that perform calculations and operations, like the central processing unit (CPU) or graphics card, heat up to a point where they can’t be rapidly cooled by built-in fans. That makes it too hot for the machine to work properly, triggering a glitch.

Overheating is caused by:

Computationally-intensive tasks

Like gaming or high-definition audio and video editing can place strain on computer components, forcing them to work harder than normal and generate more heat.

Accumulations of dirt and dust

Can disrupt internal airflow and stop heat from dissipating normally.

Blocked vents

Dust and dirt can block vents meaning heat can’t be exhausted by fans.

Damage of components

If components become damaged by repeated overheating, this will make them less efficient and more likely to generate additional heat, leading to more glitches or complete failure.

Problems With Hardware

Hardware issues can also trigger glitches, including system slowdowns or becoming unresponsive to inputs from keyboards and touch screens.

Common hardware issues that create computer glitches include:

Problems with random access memory (RAM)

Issues with a computer’s random access memory can cause error beeps to sound or lead to the ‘blue screen of death’ PC users encounter before a system suddenly shuts down. Faulty RAM can have a variety of causes, from overheating to physical damage to components.

Problems with the hard drive

If a computer slows down repeatedly or frequently crashes it may point to a faulty hard drive that needs to be replaced.

Problems with power supply

If a machine is frequently unstable or causing repeated and unexpected restarts, it may be a problem with the computer’s power supply unit (PSU).

Problems With Software

Often the most common source of computer glitches lies in the various software programs people use and the presence of bugs, security issues, or out-of-date versions in need of patching.

For example:

Missing OS updates

In laptops and handheld devices like smartphones and tablets, outdated OS software and old drivers are often blamed for glitches like screen lag, showdowns, and system crashes.

Software bugs

Software programs often have built-in coding errors called bugs. Bugs can be the source of multiple computer glitches, including crashes, freezes, and unexpected outputs or behaviors.

Software conflicts

Incompatibilities between different software programs are another source of glitches. These occur when two or more programs try to access the same computing resources or simply cancel one another out. They occur more commonly on laptops and desktop computers than on handheld devices.

Problems With Malware

If a laptop or desktop computer is exhibiting glitches like slow performance, odd behavior, or generating unexpected alerts and messages, these could be caused by a computer virus. Viruses and other types of malware are designed to interfere with or overtake the system’s normal control mechanisms, which can create various glitches. To minimize risks, it’s important to use anti-virus software, which can detect and remove the malware before it causes damage.

Glitch vs. Bug

While a glitch can refer to a broad range of computer, software, or system malfunctions, it’s really a generic term for ‘something’s not working properly.’

A bug is more specific. It’s a problem with a software program caused by errors in the underlying code. Bugs can be the source of all kinds of glitches.

A software bug can cause a program to crash or generate an invalid output. The problem is usually caused by erroneous logic written into a software program that leads to invalid calculations or unexpected operations that change how the software behaves. The cause of most software bugs is human error, from simple typos to bigger problems with a program’s design.

Glitch Examples

Frozen screensSlowdowns in performancePrograms stop respondingStrange error messages

This occurs when the computer or handheld devices stops responding to inputs, causing the display to become static and motionless. Frozen screens can be caused by hardware issues, software conflicts, or insufficient RAM.

These glitches happen when a program or machine’s normal speed or reaction to inputs becomes sluggish. Slowdowns can be caused by lack of disk space, having too many programs launch automatically at startup, or out-of-date software or drivers.

If software applications stop responding to user inputs, it’s a frustrating glitch that can disrupt workflow. Unresponsive program glitches can be caused by a lack of system resources such as RAM, conflicts or compatibility issues between programs, or bugs written into a software’s underlying code.

Glitches of this type appear as unexpected system notifications indicating that something isn’t working as it should be or is behaving in unexpected ways. Error messages and system alerts can be caused by software bugs, incompatibilities, or damaged system files.

The Bottom Line

A glitch can be the very definition of end user frustration, causing distress and disruption when computers or programs don’t behave as they should.

If there’s an upside to glitches, it’s that they indicate issues that need resolution and can be vital to the quality assurance processes technology vendors rely on to improve their products.

The project management software tools development teams use have built-in mechanisms for tracking and categorizing glitches, helping identify recurring issues or weaknesses that could lead to future problems.